The final of the Country Motor Company Puppy Classic series concludes on Thursday night at Dapto. A quality field of youngsters that graduated from the 2012 auction will face the starter. There is an assortment of sires amongst these finalists with Where's Pedro the only sire having more than one representative.
The Where's Pedro ex. Ima Osti litter has two dogs in this final. The litter was bred by Alan Manwaring and Leslie Thompson. Tommy Wong Turn, also from the same litter, lines up in the consolation final. This is a great achievement for this litter.
The favourite for the final is Exhibitionist, who will start from Box 2. She has been impressive throughout the series and looks hard to beat from the inside draw.
The box draw for this race was conducted in a way that connections got to choose their own box once they were drawn out at random. The Webster's were the first to draw their box and they selected the pink alley for their chaser Lachlan Bomber.
Comments: Amy Bennett (Trainer) – “She improved two tenths on her heat time last week so I was stoked. I'm expecting her to improve again as she has every week. Drawing box one is great because it wins you races. She won't have to cross any other dogs and she's been beginning every time.”
Comments: Tony Brett (Trainer) – “If she can repeat what she done last week, she will be very hard to beat. If she can lead, I don't think they'll run her down. She's been doing it consistently and it would be nice if she lead again.”
Comments: William Richards (Trainer) – “Like all races, if there's trouble he could win. If there's trouble up in front he's a big chance. If there's no trouble at front he's in trouble. He can't begin. He's a slow beginner. I would prefer another box but we had no choice. By the time I got to draw one out all the good boxes had gone. The three's not too bad. The one and the two will go quick and all going well he could just be camped right behind them. The seven and eight are the next two quickest. If they cut across and there's a bit of a mix up, he's gotta be a chance. Of all the dogs in the race he has the best middle section of all of them. If he's within three or four of them at the catching pen they wanna be looking behind them because he'll be coming but whether they've got too much start on him that will be the problem.”
Comments: Leslie Thompson (Trainer) – “He probably needs a lot of luck. If he begins he could be in it for a long way, like all dogs I think. It all depends on the start. He's very quick early. He just hasn't timed it right but if he ever jumps he will give a bit of cheek for the first couple of sections. His sister will go alright too, My Bella Rose. They're out of the same litter. He's not the fastest but he's honest.”
Comments: James McFarlane(Trainer) – “To be honest I really don't think he's got a chance but anything can happen in a final. You've got a one in eight chance. All the speed dogs have got the good boxes so it's going to be hard. I think the 2 (Exhibitionist) is the winner. All we can hope for is everything gets tied up at the first turn and we go outside them all or they pressure each other at the first turn and get wide and we get underneath them. We've got no pace early, but as soon as he gets around to the 300 metre boxes he takes off.”
Best DaptoTimes
Best
Last
Sect. Best
Sect. Last
30.15
30.17
5.64
5.66
Box 6
Race Odds
$12
Heat Replay
My Bella Rose
Trainer
Alan Manwaring
Owner
A Manwaring & L Thompson
Prizemoney
$3,805.00
Last 10 Starts
2233631722
24 Months
Black
Bitch
by
Where's Pedro
–
Ima Osti
Start
Good
Running
Rail
Finish
Fair
Prizemoney Rating
$223.82
Rating
93
Career Record
Starts
1st
2nd
3rd
17
3
5
4
Strike Rates
Win %
Place %
18%
71%
Track & Dist.
Starts
1st
2nd
3rd
4
1
2
1
Box 6 Record
Starts
1st
2nd
3rd
1
0
1
0
Comments: Alan Manwaring (Trainer) – “If the favourite repeats what it done last week it looks like its pretty much unbeatable but young dogs don't always produce what they do one week to the next. If it makes a mistake we're a chance. We can run sections to lead so if you're in front, fingers crossed they jam up behind you. The guys that picked the seven and eight are happy out there but they can't cross my bitch in the six so I think I'm better drawn then the seven or the eight. If the two makes a little bit of an error, I look the leader.”
Comments: Peter Baker (Owner) – “She is better suited out wide, although she utilised the one box well last (Thursday) night. Coming into the heats, she was underdone as she was on the comeback from a seasonal spell. She is hitting her peak and can go a bit quicker then what she ran last (Thursday) night.”
Comments: Ray Webster (Co-Trainer) – “We chose Box 8 so obviously we are very happy with where he's drawn. We felt that he uses a bit of the track and stays out wide so we thought that would be the place to be and if there's a mix up in the middle or the inside hopefully we will miss it. We are very pleased with the way he is going. He went into the series with not a lot of work because he injured his hock at Wentworth Park back in October and he needed four weeks off so we've only really had one gallop before the heats and he's 100% now and improved from the heat to the semi final and hopefully he'll improve from the semi-final to the final which he will have to because Exhibitionist went about four tenths quicker then him. We're just hoping he can repeat what he did at Wenty a few months back when he went 29.92. If he does that it will put him right in the race. I think the main threats are Exhibitionist and Amy Bennett's dog in the one box and probably the dog drawn inside us trained by Charlie Gatt. I think they're the four main chances and they were actually the four semi final winners so I think they're the dogs to be concerned with. We give our dog a reasonably good chance of winning it.”
Comments: Will need some luck to feature if she gets a start.
Best Dapto Times
Best
Last
Sect. Best
Sect. Last
30.41
30.41
5.60
5.64
Exhibitionist looks the likely leader. However, if she misses the jump there will be plenty looking to replace her in that role. Little Elsie is a consistently good beginner and drawn to do plenty. My Bella Rose has plenty of early toe and may hamper Lani Banarni's and Lachlan Bomber's chances of crossing to the lead. Her brother Obee One is also capable of showing some early speed and could make things interesting up front. If Lachlan Bomber is at his best he is in with a shot for a long way. Spring Creek Kev and Gold Hunter will be looking for some luck early and if they are given room, can finish off the race very strongly.
1-2-5 you heard it here first kids!
1-2-5 you heard it here first kids!